Report: Rensselaer County sees big jump in sales tax revenue

New businesses such as Junior’s Bar and Grill in North Greenbush Commons on Route 4 are being credited by local officials for an increase in sales tax revenue in Rensselaer County for the first half of 2017 that nearly doubled the state average.
RECORD FILE PHOTO

TROY, N.Y. >> The first half of 2017 was strong economically for Rensselaer County, at least judging by sales tax receipts for the first six months of the year.

According to a new report released Friday by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the county saw its sales tax revenue increase in the first half of the year by 6.5 percent over the same period in 2016. The jump meant an additional $1.1 million to be divided up between the county and every one of its municipal governments.

The increase nearly doubled the 3.3 percent statewide year-ver-year jump reported by DiNapoli, results the report attributed to continued low unemployment and high consumer confidence, as well as an increase in fuel sales.

“Local sales tax growth across the state is welcome news, especially for many of our upstate communities that have struggled with tough economic conditions,” DiNapoli said in a news release that accompanied the report. “Sales tax, however, can be a volatile source of revenue and local officials must remain cautious. While consumer spending is holding up for now, the upcoming back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons may determine if this level of growth is sustainable.”

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Troy Mayor Patrick Madden took the same cautious approach to the increase, calling it good news both financially and psychologically, but also warning it is a lot like so-called “one-shot” revenues he has said the city shouldn’t count on as a consistent source of support in the city budget, especially when the economy as a whole is “volatile.”

Troy City Council President Carmella Mantello shared a similar dose of cautious optimism.

“I’m always glad when sales tax revenues go up,” she said Friday. “However, we won’t know the true picture until we get through the total fiscal year, but certainly it’s a positive sign.”

County officials said their numbers indicate the actual increase is only about 5.8 percent, but county Executive Kathleen Jimino nonetheless viewed it as much-welcomed help in easing the burden on property taxpayers to pay for county services.

“This report is good news for the property taxpayers of Rensselaer County,” she said in an emailed statement Friday afternoon, “as any increase in sales tax we collect will help limit the property tax burden necessary to offer the local services our residents depend on, including those to pave, plow, and patrol our streets, as well as pay the state’s mandated bills that consume 89 cents of every tax dollar we collect.”

Madden agreed the added revenue — he said he did not have specific numbers available, but based on the city’s distribution agreement with the county, the city would see about an additional $200,000 to $250,000 — was welcomed, especially as the city continues to try to extricate itself from a serious fiscal crisis. Just as importantly, though, he said it implies good things about continued economic growth in the county, especially in the city’s downtown area and the growing retail corridor along Route 4 south of the city.

“You can’t help but be upbeat when you see numbers like this,” Madden said Friday. “I always tell people if they don’t shop in Troy, they should at least shop in the county. [The sales tax revenue] all goes into one big pot.”

While the news was good in Rensselaer County, the same couldn’t be said across the Hudson River, where Albany County saw a 1.5 percent year-ver-year decline in its sales tax collections, one of only three upstate counties to see a drop. In his report, DiNapoli said that disaapointing performance may be attributable to big-box retail expansion in Rensselaer and other surrounding counties.

To the north, meanwhile, Saratoga County saw a relatively miniscule increase of 1.8 percent, but the city of Saratoga Springs, which collects its sales tax separately from the county, saw a sharp drop of 5.9 percent.